Play With Me Again
by AliasAlliance
Summary: AU. Young Gilbert is struggling as an orphan off the street whilst protecting his younger brother. When he finally decides to trust this Vargas family, who'd knew they had so many lies running around without even knowing it? Rated T cause I felt like it.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first Hetalia fanfiction, yay! Couldn't resist making it a somewhat semi-AU... Well, **this fanfic is AU**, but if I'm making a sequel it's gonna be semi-AU. How does that logic work? Uh... You'll see I guess...

Anywho, a couple of thing before we start:

**Slight pairings**, but most of the time it's suppose to be just friendship. Unless you want to see it _that_ way...

**Canada / Matthew's William's name here is Acero M-B. Williams**. You'll see why sooner or later. Just don't get confused, okei?

A couple of **swear words** lounging around.

There **might be character death**. I'm not really sure but in future chappies there might.

Uh... I've **shrank their ages** xP With good reason, I swear! So with the characters introduced here...  
Gilbert: 9 years old  
Ludwig: 8 years old  
Acero: 8 years old  
Feliciano: 7 years old  
Lovino: 7 years old

Disclaimer: **I do not own Hetalia** in any shape, way, and form. And I'll never will. Ever. EVER. So now I'll stop with the disclaimers cause they make me sad...

Hum... So I guess that's all you should honestly be concerned about. **I TRY my best to keep the characters in character**... But, uh... I think I've failed. Like, majorly.

Anywho! **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Ooh, some random line thingies used to separate other thingies!

* * *

Raindrops dripped of the houses. Everyone had protection and shelter... It's not fair...

Gilbert felt shivers all over his body. But he paid no mind to them. He spared a glance at his younger brother, Ludwig. Ludwig was covered by a thin blanket with a bunch of holes torn open. They walked through the streets, everyone eyeing them with distaste. They were used to it. After all, they were just a 4th grader and a 3rd grader, all tattered and dirty. Gilbert would freak out every time someone approached them; generally by picking a fight with them then run away. He didn't trust anyone. Everyone betrayed them, after all. He would do whatever he can to make sure Ludwig wouldn't go down the same past. He needs a bright future!

"Gilbert..? I'm hungry..." whimpered Ludwig, seemingly embarrassed for admitting it. Gilbert nodded, forcing a smile.

"Don't worry! We'll find a warm home where we both can live in and you can eat all you want!" exclaimed Gilbert, waving his hands about.

"Are you sure..?" asked Ludwig, clutching onto Gilbert.

"P-Positive!" lied Gilbert. He hated lying to his brother, but he doesn't need to know the truth. They were abandoned long ago—All the food they've gotten so far was from pickpocket, stealing, begging, or looking through the trash. Gilbert's paced slowed down a bit, feeling his legs weakening. The bitter wind made him feel frozen all over. And the rain isn't exactly helping him.

"G-Gilbert!" said Ludwig in worry as Gilbert has stopped moving. This is no good. Gilbert feels like having a massive headache. He inwardly cringed as a woman approached him. She looked like a rich woman, judging by her overly-cleaned clothes and expensive accessories hanging by her neck.

"Are you okay little boy?" asked the woman, though she's probably just doing it out of politeness. Everyone does.

"SHUT UP AND STAY AWAY FROM ME!" shouted Gilbert all of the sudden. He broke into running, dragging his little brother with him. The world was blurry and Gilbert felt his footsteps stumbling a bit.

"Gilbert! Slow down!" shouted Ludwig, but his shout fell on deaf ears. Gilbert couldn't concentrate. The rain felt like daggers and the wind were ice pelts thrown against him. Everything felt so heavy. Why did he yell again? Oh, right, that woman was approaching him. That woman had a kind voice, but Gilbert knew better. And he is always right for he is awesome. That woman would have tricked them. Like every other people did. It's not fair. Not fair at all.

Ludwig's voice slowly faded away. The last thing Gilbert remembered, before everything faded into black and he collapsed...

"_Will you play with us again?"  
"Of course. No matter what."_

A bitter smile graced Gilbert's face.

_He may have been his friend, but he was like all the others. He never came back.  
The mysterious boy that went by the name Matthew Bonnefoy never came back._

Seeing Gilbert fall to the ground made a shocked expression dawn onto Ludwig's face. He has never seen Gilbert so weak.

"G-Gilbert?" questioned Ludwig, lightly poking him. Gilbert didn't respond. That was when Ludwig went into full panic mode.

"Brother? Bruder? älteren Bruder?" shouted Ludwig, shaking Gilbert ferociously. No response. Ludwig then began sobbing.

"BRUDER!" cried out Ludwig. He knew that Gilbert told him to never cry. He knew that. But now that Gilbert has turned so helpless... What should he do? The rain kept on dripping and they had no place to stay. Ludwig then heard footsteps, but he didn't know what to do. Should he ask them for help? Or should he go fight them like Gilbert always had? Ludwig is good at fighting, but didn't do it a lot because Gilbert always feared that he would have gotten hurt. But... He had to protect Gilbert. Ludwig prepared fighting stance, but then lowered his guard when he had realized who the footsteps belong to. It was a kid, probably around Gilbert's age. Tears were streaming out of his eyes.

"Are you alright?" it was an innocent question, but the results were surprising. The child looked up into his eyes, and smiled.

"You... Can see me..?" asked the kid. Ludwig nodded, not comprehending what he meant by that. What, was he a ghost or something?

"T-Thank you... I-I'll do anything! As a favour!" exclaimed the child, looking very determined. As a favour for what? Seeing him? Ludwig decided not to question him but instead glanced at Gilbert. The child followed his lead and gasped. Showing back his determined face, the child hoisted Gilbert on his back. It looked very weird, mostly because Gilbert was bigger than the kid. But the child didn't seem to notice that and walked away. Ludwig followed his lead into a street with old houses crowding around. Most of the houses had the paint peeling off the walls. This must be the poor side of the city.

"My madre and padre aren't at home right now, since they're at work, but I have my adoptive fratelli. One of them is kind of rude so just ignore him, alright?" asked the kid.

"What's fratelli?" asked Ludwig. Though he was engaged in the conversation with the child, he still couldn't help but watch Gilbert for the whole time. Is he alive? Is he comfortable riding that kid's back? Is he okay?

"Oh! It's Italian for brothers. Sorry about that, I'm so used to calling them fratelli." Explained the child sheepishly.

"Where are we going? To a hospital?" asked Ludwig. It must have been a very old and cheap hospital if they were going to one. The kid shook his head.

"To my house. The hospital is too far away." Explained the child.

"Oh..." stated Ludwig. So the kid's poor then? Let's just hope they won't be too much of a bother...

The rest of the walk went on in an uncomfortable silence. Both children were lost in thought; the two worrying about two separate things. The child's voice, however, broke off their train of thought.

"We're here." Stated the kid. Ludwig inspected the front of the house in childish curiosity. It was painted white, but it's peeling off showing wooden brown. The front door looked like it hasn't been replaced in years, though strangely enough there were some strange markings on the door. And they don't look natural. The stairs seem to feel like they would break any second.

"Is this your home?" questioned Ludwig. The child nodded, crossing the stairs in one big hop then kicking open the door.

"Geez! Be kinder on the door next time!" shouted an annoyed voice. In the hallway behind the door was a kid about their age with dark brown hair. A child that looked exactly like him (except with paler hair) however brightened up with their appearance.

"There you are, Acero! We were worried because it was raining! But of course Lovino was probably just hiding it." Grinned the child, nudging his twin. Lovino grumbled, but didn't protest.

"Do we still have our medicine in the cabinets?" questioned the child, whose name is apparently Acero. When Lovino and the other kid got a good look at him, the kid timidly nodded and Lovino went right away to grab some. Acero gently placed Gilbert onto the couch.

"Is he going to be alright?" questioned Ludwig, feeling emptiness inside of him that he hasn't felt before. It was sort of frightening, not knowing what has happened to the person that took care of them for their whole life.

"He'll be fine. While Lovino is off getting medicine, I'll bring some spare bed sheets and an icepack. Feliciano; you stay watch. Alert us if he's not feeling well." Explained Acero. The child, Feliciano, nodded happily. Not wasting a minute, Acero left the room. Ludwig watched Gilbert with a depressed look on his face. Will he really heal?

"Hey, why are you so depressed? Cheer up a bit! My name is Feliciano, Feliciano Vargas! What's yours?" asked Feliciano. Ludwig watched Feliciano with a weird expression, but decided in the end to trust him.

"Ludwig." Replied Ludwig timidly. Feliciano grinned at the answer.

"Ludwig, huh? That's such a cool name! Lud-wig, Lud-wig, ha ha!" grinned Feliciano. But Ludwig didn't really understand why the other was so happy. It's just a name, after all.

"So what is his name? Is he your friend?" asked Feliciano, pointing towards Gilbert. Ludwig fidgeted nervously.

"He's my bruder—My older brother. His name is Gilbert." Explained Ludwig.

"Wow! You two have cool names! Hey, you're friends with Acero, right?" questioned Feliciano.

"Acero?" repeated Ludwig.

"Yeah! Acero M-B. Williams!" exclaimed Feliciano cheerfully.

"Is it the kid that brought Gilbert in?" verified Ludwig. Feliciano nodded cheerfully.

"He really is a nice brother!" exclaimed Feliciano.

"We just met. I didn't know him before a few minutes ago." Explained Ludwig.

"Oh." Stated Feliciano. He suddenly turned oddly quiet. Ludwig didn't mind the silence. His thoughts already blocked up any outside sound, anyway. He hoped that Gilbert will be okay. He has to be. He promised!

Ludwig inwardly cringed. He should have known that everybody would break their promises eventually.  
But this is his brother they're talking about. It'll be fine.  
It'll always be fine...

* * *

"...ud...g!"

Ludwig twisted and turned. Everywhere was darkness.

"L...wi..!"

Those monstrous eyes, ready to attack—

"LUDWIG!"

Ludwig's eyes snapped open. He was lying on a pretty comfortable couch. A blanket, much more warmer than the one he had earlier, covered him. In the foggy state his mind was in, he vaguely remembered what has happened earlier. In front of him was Gilbert, worried eyes scanning him.

"Gilbert..?" questioned Ludwig slowly, curling himself tighter in his blanket. Gilbert let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're okay. So do you know where we are?" asked Gilbert. Ludwig didn't know if he should answer or not. Gilbert was always so fidgety every time a stranger would approach. In the end, Ludwig decided to tell the truth, unsure of his brother's reaction.

"You collapsed. I got scared and then a little boy gave us shelter." Explained Ludwig blatantly. Gilbert flinched, remembering how he fell to the ground while running away.

"...I see. But we better run away now. Those strangers might go and do bad things to us!" exclaimed Gilbert.

"But they seem like nice people..." muttered Ludwig.

"Yes, but less people we know, the least amount of chances we'll get betrayed! Everyone gets betrayed in the end, Ludwig. Remember that." Stated Gilbert.

"Remember what?"

A high-pitched voice broke them out of their thoughts. Gilbert quickly turned around, going into defence mode. But he visibly relaxed when he saw the child. It was just Feliciano. You can already tell just by glancing at him that he wouldn't even hurt a fly.

"Yay! You're awake! I'm gonna tell the others!" exclaimed Feliciano, ready to speed off.

"Don't." Said Gilbert's disarming voice, "It's probably like what, 3 in the morning? We're going to leave soon anyway."

What Gilbert wasn't expecting, though, was tears threatening to spill from Feliciano's eyes.

"Why won't you stay?" pleaded Feliciano, looking like an injured puppy. But somehow, Gilbert resisted it.

"No. We are... g-grateful ... that you've helped us, but we need to keep moving on." Stated Gilbert firmly. It was pretty obvious that Gilbert wasn't used to thanking someone.

"B-But... I'm sure Lovino and Acero would be happy to know that you're well... You can't just leave, at least not yet!" begged Feliciano. Ludwig then shifted a bit, seemingly uncomfortable about this situation.

"Gilbert..." Started Ludwig, unsure how he's going to phrase this. Gilbert's attention then immediately flicked towards Ludwig.

"What's wrong, West?" asked Gilbert, concern flooding his voice. Ludwig fidgeted, his hands fiddling with the blanket he had. It was nice and warm.

"I'm... Still tired... Can we stay here longer? Please, bruder?" asked Ludwig. Gilbert seemed shocked for a moment, but then his lips curved into a content smile, eyes softening and filled with a caring emotion.

"Just for awhile. We're leaving in two days. I heard it's going to rain again tomorrow." Stated Gilbert. Ludwig nodded. Feliciano seemed to be filled with glee.

"Ve~ That's great! That's just as great as eating pasta for a whole week! We'll tell Lovino and Acero in the morning!" exclaimed Feliciano.

"Uh... Feliciano... Why are you here in the first place?" asked Ludwig. Feliciano's face then looked oddly sheepish.

"I... Uh... Got sort of worried that something wrong might have happened to the two of you..." explained Feliciano, looking embarrassed.

"We're fine. Just go back to sleep." Stated Ludwig. Feliciano nodded, seemingly happier, then skipped away.

"I still don't trust them..." muttered Gilbert.

"Gilbert, they're around the same age as us. I doubt anything bad will happen. Besides, we can handle them, right?" asked Ludwig.

"'We?' Oh, no, I'm the person handling them. You escape. I'm the awesomest person alive and your brother, so don't worry about things like that!" exclaimed Gilbert. Ludwig tried his best not to frown, so he nodded instead. He wanted to protect his brother too, one day. He doesn't think lowly of him, no, it's just that if he bears all the pain—

"Hey, West, you okay? C'mon, we finally get to sleep! And not just a couple of minutes, too! You're the one who said you're tired, you know, not me!" grinned Gilbert. Ludwig laughed softly and nodded. Soon, the two brothers were fast asleep.

* * *

Feliciano waited for a few seconds, lingering in the hallway... Before hearing light snores from the two brothers. Asleep already? Huh... Perhaps he really can't get much information about them after all... Sighing softly, Feliciano made his way back to his room. He shared the same room as his brother, Lovino. Acero takes the same room as their i genitori (parents) since they're not home very often. And when they do come home, it's just for short visits. If in one of those very, very, very rare moments they actually sleep in this house, Acero sleeps on the couch. They don't have many rooms in this small house, since that's the best they can afford. And when two other mouths to feed... At least it's just for two days.

Speaking of which, how is Acero doing? Is he also asleep? He should be, since it's like 3 in the morning... Well, Feliciano's already up anyway, so he might as well just take a little peek.

Opening the door to make sure it doesn't creek, Feliciano crept inside. He blinked stupidly as he saw the blanket tidied-up.

But Acero was nowhere to be found.

Was he kidnapped?

Panicked thoughts infiltrated Feliciano's head as he began to think of all the worse-case scenarios. He was about to run to his brother to help, but then a furball as white as snow caught his eyes. Kumajiro, Acero's polar bear, slept contently on top of the neat bed. That means Acero is safe. If Acero didn't tell Kumajiro that he was leaving, Kumajiro would be tearing the house into two looking for him. Even though they've forgotten each other's names a lot, they still trusted each other a lot.

Wait, so that means...

Feliciano's face turn into a frown, eyes showing deep worry.

_Not again..._

* * *

"Fratello... Fratello wake up..." whined Feliciano slightly, nudging his brother awake.

"Ugh, what is it now?" asked Lovino, groaning. He was actually surprised Feliciano didn't pounce him awake, but he didn't question it.

"Acero's gone again. To that place." Stated Feliciano, pouting.

"Damn! I've forgotten it's that time of the week. I got so fucking occupied about those potato bastards..." muttered Lovino.

"Don't say things like that about Ludwig and Gilbert. C'mon, it's stopped raining outside but it's still pretty cold." Stated Feliciano.

"Can't you go yourself this time? I don't feel like getting out of bed..." complained Lovino.

"C'mon Lovi! I don't wanna go outside all alone! It's dark and scary and ghosts are everywhere!" whined Feliano.

"So why do I have to come with you?" shouted Lovino.

"Because I can't go alone! It's a whole fifteen minutes walk!" pouted Feliciano.

"Well, you should have stopped him earlier, then!" complained Lovino.

"But you forgot about it too! It's also your responsibility!" shouted Feliciano.

"Why can't you just ask those two potato bastards, then!" stated Lovino.

"Because they need sleep right now!" complained Feliciano. Suddenly, another voice broke in.

"Hey, we're not THAT weak, you know." Commented that certain voice. It was Gilbert standing in the doorway. Behind him was Ludwig. They both seem to have recently awakened. Has their yelling waked them up?

"Too late for not waking them up. Now leave me alone." Muttered Lovino, wanting to go back into bed.

"Lovino!" whined Feliciano.

"What is the problem, Feliciano?" questioned Ludwig.

"Uh... Well... We don't know why but every Friday Acero would wake up in the middle of the night and go to Seamoore's Cliff. Well, precisely right next to the ocean near Seamoore's Cliff. Whenever it was snowing, raining, even when he gets very sick, he would always go there. We would usually stop him, but today we got sort of distracted..." explained Feliciano. Gilbert and Ludwig tensed up at the name of 'Seamoore's Cliff' but didn't comment on it.

"Then me and Feliciano will go to Seamoore's Cliff. Ludwig, you stay here with Lovino." Stated Gilbert. Ludwig knew that Gilbert is serious if he didn't call him 'West'. And yet, he protested.

"No, I'm coming too!" complained Ludwig.

"But Ludwig—"

"It's not fair if only you go." Stated Ludwig, crossing his arms. Gilbert frowned, facing defeat.

"Fine. But you better stick with me at all times, alright?" asked Gilbert. Ludwig nodded.

"Uh..." started Feliciano, "You don't really have to come if you don't want to." Gilbert grinned.

"Nah, it's alright. Besides, I'm curious to know how this 'Acero' person looks like!" exclaimed Gilbert.

"Ugh... If everyone is going, I might as well go too..." grumbled Lovino, getting out of bed.

"Yay!" exclaimed Feliciano, "That's the spirit!"

When everyone got ready, they marched out of the house and into the woods. The forest is a bit dangerously near the edges of the cliff, but wide enough for two people to walk in between of both the forest and cliff safely. Running in those parts is quite dangerous, however, for there are no fences or metal bars to keep you from falling over.

When they reached to the area near Seamoore's Cliff, Gilbert and Ludwig ignored the cliff and focused more on the boy with golden-hair. He slumbered on a curved rock, expression neutral. Gilbert felt an odd sense of nostalgia, but shrugged it off.

"So that's Acero? He looks sort of familiar..." commented Gilbert.

"Maybe you've met somewhere..?" offered Feliciano.

"Probably, since I think he looks familiar too..." murmured Ludwig.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for!" exclaimed Gilbert, carrying Acero on his back. The three nodded and head back to the Vargas household.

Ludwig lagged behind, taking a risk by glancing at the cliff. And he remembered that one time when he...

Fighting back tears, he rushed ahead.

The past is the past.  
No use in helping it now.

* * *

There had been things that have been bothering Gilbert the moment he saw that golden-haired boy named Acero. Maybe it has been because they were so close to Seamoore's Cliff. Or that he's in the same spot where he first saved _him_. Either way, something was bothering Gilbert, but he didn't even tried to figure out what it was.

"Which room is Acero's?" asked Gilbert, eager to finally have him get off his back.

"At the end of the hallway, parallel to ours." Stated Lovino. He immediately went inside his room to finally get some blissful sleep and Feliciano followed him. It's soon 4 in the morning for crying out loud! Gilbert nodded and walked away. Ludwig then decided he could greet Acero tomorrow morning and went to sleep. Opening the door to Acero's room, Gilbert gently placed Acero onto his bed. Unfortunately for him, Kumajiro was on that bed.

And Kumajiro doesn't like being squished.

"Argh! Get him off me!" shouted Gilbert, trying to get the small polar bear off him. Kumajiro had jumped onto Gilbert in rage, claws extended. The shout had woken up Acero. Kumajiro was gripping onto Gilbert's shoulders as they both watched Acero sit up, dazed.

_He may have been his friend, but he was like all the others. He never came back._

Violet met red.

_The mysterious boy that went by the name Matthew Bonnefoy never came back._

"Um... Nice to meet you?" stated Gilbert sheepishly.

_But what really happened?_


	2. Chapter 2

Hi again! Same warnings as last chapter, which includes the disclaimer. Oh, and there are more swears in this one, courtesy of Lovino's potty mouth!

Every other chapter is a bit different. So for like this chapter it shows fragments about a certain character's past. So, for example...  
Chapter 1: Storyline  
Chapter 2: Past  
Chapter 3: Storyline  
Chapter 4: Past  
Chapter 5: Storyline  
And so on...

When I run out of 'Past's to type (or if I wanted to keep them hidden), I might try to add omakes and bonus scenes.

No one reviewed last chapter... I'm kinda sad but oh well, it was my first Hetalia fanfic after all. Though it would help to review just to at least TELL ME what's wrong about it, or what I can improve. If you just don't like the storyline then it's fine. But I would still like to thank everyone who 'alert'ed and 'favorite'd this fanfic! That means a lot ^^

So anyway! Onto the next chappie! Hm... Whose past should it be? Eh, let's start off with Feliciano's and Lovino's!

* * *

(Make sure you've read at least the first part of the author's note, it's kinda important in case you sorta get confused with the chapter arrangement...)

**Friday, March 10th, XXXX** (2 years ago from present time)

"Lovino! Come back here!" shouted Feliciano. He was chasing after Lovino with strangely enough; A broomstick.

"No! I don't wanna!" replied Lovino, running away with all his might.

"LOVINO! You are going to tell me where you hid the rest of the ice cream!" complained Feliciano, swinging his broomstick in order to hit Lovino. But Lovino easily dodged it and ran outside.

"For the last time, I told you I ate it!" insisted Lovino, darting across the streets.

Feliciano and Lovino used to complain about what seems to be for other people the littlest thing. Well, first of all; their parents are messed. Really messed. Messed enough to leave two 1st graders alone in some rotten house while they go enjoy paradise elsewhere. Well, at least they pay for the bills, their education, and send them postcards. The thing is they're filthy rich but didn't want children, so they just ditched them in an old house and left to Hawaii or something. They're just that messed. Oh, but they send extra money to them as allowance to pay for food and clothing. At the very least, they acknowledge that they do have a pair of twins starving.

It was one of those rare moments where they've sent enough money for having extra dessert. The twins were happy, but...

"You can't possibly have eaten it all in one day!" complained Feliciano, dropping the broomstick and just started to plainly chase after him.

"It's possible!" replied Lovino, darting behind bushes.

"But that's crazy, ve! I didn't even got a scoop of it!" shouted Feliciano, jumping over the bushes. Lovino just managed to escape Feliciano trapping him and ran towards the more 'lively' parts of town People didn't seem to be bothered by the scene because they're used to the twins fighting all the time. They've ran through the streets and barely managed to avoid the honking cars. But the sound of sobbing stopped the two brothers. Feliciano was the first to react, forgetting all about the ice cream problem. He carefully made his way towards where the sobbing was heard. Lovino just grumbled, following close behind him.

There they saw a child about a year older than them, sobbing. His golden hair was a mess and violet eyes turning red due to sobbing so much. The twins scanned the house behind the boy. They knew this house. Their parents would often visit here, talking to its owners. They've made friends with their boy named... Frincus? What was his name again..? Oh well. But they've never saw this boy before.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Feliciano, patting the boy on his back. The boy didn't answer, he just continued sobbing. But he could feel that the boy has noticed him. Feliciano decided to keep on talking.

"What are you crying about? It's such a pretty house you live in." Smiled Feliciano, making a bad attempt to cheer him up. Honestly, he has never tried to cheer people up in his life. Mostly because at school he would distance himself from everyone besides his brother. Usually, when people cry, someone else would cheer them up. Now who was that boy again? Alfond? The golden haired boy didn't respond, but his sobbing were starting to cease. Feliciano took this as a good sign and continued.

"You know, I really like this part of the neighbourhood! The flowers are always so pretty here! I've always wanted to take care of a garden. Or maybe even a tomato garden! That would have sounded like fun!" grinned Feliciano, waving his hands as he spoke. The boy stopped crying, but his face was still glued to the ground.

"Are you done yet?" grumbled Lovino, impatiently waiting for Feliciano to stop talking about worthless things. He was leaning on the tree in front of the house. Feliciano seemed to have noticed him for the first time.

"Oh! And I also have a brother. He can sometimes be a handful, I suppose. He's over there leaning on that tree, so you can't see him if you kept on staring at the ground, you know." Giggled Feliciano, "He ate all of the ice cream we had today. I got really mad! So mad that I nearly chased him with a broomstick outside! Luckily I dropped it, huh?" The boy didn't look up, still. Why won't he talk..?

"Hey, are you okay now? You still look a bit pale." Stated Feliciano. The boy froze for a moment, but then nodded. Feliciano brightened up to the fact that he's responding.

"That's great! What's your favourite food? I like pasta! Pasta is good! But Lovino, my brother, kept on complaining how we kept eating the same thing every day, so I had to learn how to cook other things too! My madre and padre are very weird, though. They just left us in some small house but at least they give us money! So that's why I had to learn how to cook. Lovino is too lazy to!" stated Feliciano happily.

"I can hear you, you know!" shouted Lovino, frustrated. Feliciano just laughed in response.

"Wait! I almost forgot! I didn't say my name yet! I'm Feliciano Vargas! What's yours?" asked Feliciano. The boy hesitated for a moment, but then shrugged. Feliciano looked taken aback.

"What? You don't know! That's not good! Everyone should have a name! It's not nice just to call you 'boy with golden hair'!" exclaimed Feliciano. The boy didn't respond, staring lifelessly at the ground in front of him.

"So what should I call you? Lovino, do you have any ideas?" asked Feliciano. Lovino grumbled.

"How about random-little-boy-from-the-street-that-we-had-found-crying-and-decided-to-give-him-a-name-cause-our-lives-are-just-that-stupid?" growled Lovino, not really interested.

"Uh... That's too long..." commented Feliciano.

"Does it look like I care?" growled Lovino.

"I know!" exclaimed Feliciano, snapping his fingers, "Let's go in the shopping parts of this town! There's gotta be a lot of shop names there, right?"

"Feli, you can't just go ahead, drag some random kid on the streets, then bring him all over town just for something as stupid as a name." Grumbled Lovino.

"Yes I can! C'mon, ragazzo!" exclaimed Feliciano, yanking the kid by his arm (Italian: Translation: ragazzo = boy). The kid seemed startled by the contact, but didn't got a chance to say anything as he was being pulled by the hyperactive Italian. Lovino followed close behind, hiding his worry.

"Feliciano! Stop! We have homework to do!" shouted Lovino, running after the two kids.

"As if you've ever done your homework in the first place!" grinned Feliciano, laughing at Lovino's expression at those words. What? It's true.

* * *

The band of three soon entered a long street filled with stores. They've tried names of stores (such as _Allan_'s bakery) but the violet-eyed kid would always shook his head, disagreeing with every name.

The three kids, exhausted from all that walking, decided to sit down in a nearby park, leaning on a maple tree.

"I told you this was pointless. The kid likes nothing! We try being nice to him but he would refuse our help! What is going on in that stupid head of his?" grumbled Lovino in annoyance. The child looked taken aback, watching the ground shamefully. His eyes brightened up, though, as he saw a maple leaf on the ground. He picked it up gently, afraid to break it.

"Wow! That is one pretty maple leaf~" exclaimed Feliciano, gazing at the pretty red color. He turned towards the kid. "Do you like maple leaves?" The child nodded in happiness, scanning the leaf as if it was some rare object that needs extra care. Lovino muttered something under his breath. Feliciano stared at him in curiosity. Tilting his head to the side, he asked:

"What did you say, Lovi?" asked Feliciano.

"Acero." Stated Lovino, louder this time.

"A...cero..? What about it?" asked Feliciano with curiosity.

"His name, what do you think? He likes maple leaves, right? So his name should be Acero; Italian for maple." Suggested Lovino with gritted teeth. Feliciano brightened up.

"Wow! You do care after all, Lovi! So, do you like that name?" grinned Feliciano towards the boy. The boy nodded, equally as happy.

"You don't have to sound that happy about it. It's a stupid name." Muttered Lovino. Feliciano shook his head.

"No! It's a great name! Besides, you actually paid attention to him, so you chose that name with care, right?" grinned Feliciano.

"Shut up! I don't care at all! I just wanted to go home as soon as possible and he deserved a stupid name!" shouted Lovino. Feliciano glanced at Acero, whose eyes were filled with appreciation. He actually looked happy. That's great. Feliciano's grin turned into a thankful smile.

"Acero looks like he wants to say thank you! C'mon, Lovi! Give him a hug!" exclaimed Feliciano.

"No way in hell am I going to give some damn kid a hug!" yelled Lovino in disgust.

"Aww, why do you have to hurt our feelings?" cried Feliciano, frowning.

"Whatever, I want to go home." Pouted Lovino in boredom.

"Ok! Hold on... Acero, you do live somewhere, right?" asked Feliciano. Acero seemed upset, shaking his head in a sign of 'no'. Feliciano looked surprised and Lovino's eyes just widened.

"Ve? Really? Then whose doorstep were you crying on?" asked Feliciano. Acero's eyes were downcast, not responding to the question. Feliciano's reply was immediate.

"So it's settled! You're staying at our house, Acero!" exclaimed Feliciano. Acero and Lovino both looked shocked, with Lovino the first to recover.

"WHAT! No! I don't want some blonde-hair idiot living in our house!" cried Lovino.

"Please, Lovi..?" said Feliciano, doing the puppy dog eyes. Lovino's hand twitched for awhile, resisting it, before crying out:

"Ok fine! Yeesh! Just make sure he doesn't get into my way!" stated Lovino in frustration before walking out back towards home, arms crossed. Acero then looked guilty, but Feliciano's smile reassured him.

"Don't worry about Lovino. He's actually happy that you're staying over! If he wasn't, then he would have been stomping back home." Smiled Feliciano. Acero smiled back at this, and the two kids headed back to the Vargas household. Back then, they thought it was a silly game of 'Let's take care of random people off the street then act like bosses about it!', but they didn't know that this encounter has changed the Vargas twin's lives.

* * *

**Saturday, March 11th, XXXX** (2 years ago from present time) (The following day from above...)

"For crying out loud, Feliciano! Why do you always have to mess up?" shouted Lovino on the left side of the table.

"It's not my fault! The batter wouldn't cooperate with me! Since I couldn't make pancakes without batter, I just tried to toast some waffles instead!" exclaimed Feliciano, on the right side of the table. Acero sat awkwardly between the two twins, watching them fight.

"Yeah, but you left the batter as a mess all over the kitchen and burned the waffles!" complained Lovino. Acero glanced around the kitchen. He did have a point. Acero, gaining an idea, looked around the room for a wet cloth. When he found one, he began cleaning up the batter.

"The toaster must have been rigged! And like I said before, the batter wouldn't cooperate with me! Pasta is way more friendly!" shouted Feliciano. Acero then finished cleaning up the batter and left the used cloth on the sink, planning to wash it later.

"Those are foods, it's not like it can talk back at you! And what kind of person would have pasta for breakfast?" stated Lovino in frustration. Acero then grabbed the burnt waffles and threw then away in the garbage.

"I would! Pasta is so tasty!" exclaimed Feliciano. Acero then grabbed the leftover batter and went to work.

"You can't have pasta every day!" shouted Lovino.

"Yes you can!" stated Feliciano.

"No you can't!" disagreed Lovino.

"Yes you can!"

"No you can't!"

That went on for about ten minutes, neither brother letting up.

"Yes you can!"

"No you can't!"

Yes you can!"

"No you—Acero, what are you doing?" asked Lovino, watching as Acero placed the finished pancakes onto a place.

"Yes you—Uh... Where did the batter and burnt waffles go?" asked Feliciano, looking around the room.

Acero didn't respond; instead just placing the plate filled with pancakes onto the table then slamming a bottle of maple syrup besides it. The look on Acero's face clearly said 'EAT. NOW.' The Vargas twins stared at the perfectly made pancakes in what seemed like awe, before grabbing their own plates and placing some pancakes on it. Acero pointed towards the maple syrup, and the two twins understood his message. Pouring some maple syrup on the perfectly made pancakes, the twins felt like they were in _heaven_. They've wordlessly devoured the pancakes with their bare hands, not caring if the syrup got spread everywhere. Acero grabbed some pancakes of his own and literally dumped half of the bottle of maple syrup on it, not caring that it overflowed the plate. He then ate it happily, and honestly the twins were too busy eating their pancakes to care.

It was then decided Acero is making breakfast for them. Forever.

* * *

**Monday, March 13, XXXX** (2 years ago from present time)

Acero (who has been decided to sleep in their parents room), woke up with Feliciano pouncing onto his bed. Groggily, he sat up, and Feliciano grinned victoriously.

"Come on, Acero! We want your breakfast!" exclaimed Feliciano. Acero glanced at the alarm clock besides him. 6:30 AM. He rubbed his eyes with annoyance, not liking to wake up so early in the morning. But, anyway, he left the room to make the oh-so-great breakfast.

"Feliciano! You didn't have to wake him up! We can make our own breakfast. It's too early for him." Grumbled Lovino, rubbing his eyes as if he just woke up.

"But I wanted Acero's pancakes today..." whined Feliciano, crossing his arms.

"We're getting it for every weekend of our lives, stupid brother!" shouted Lovino.

"You didn't have to yell!" yelled Feliciano.

"Yes I do! Or else nothing will get into that tiny little brain of yours!" shouted Lovino. Feliciano shouted back and the two boys started complaining once more. Of course, like last time, they were interrupted by Acero's pancakes. Acero inwardly sighed, wondering how long his pancakes can stop them from complaining.

After finishing their breakfast, Lovino went off somewhere, muttering something along the lines of 'preparing'. Feliciano nodded and Acero shot the two twins a questioning look. Feliciano spotted that look and grinned.

"We have school from Monday to Friday! Uh... We should come back home at around 4:30 in the afternoon... So stay put until then, okay?" asked Feliciano. Acero nodded as Feliciano left. With an inward sigh, Acero cleaned up the mess the two twins left in the kitchen. (They eat like pigs! Seriously!)

* * *

**Friday, March 17, XXXX** (2 years ago from present time) (12:30 AM)

Feliciano yawned, knowing he should really sleep right now, but deciding not to because he wanted to keep Acero company. Acero was reading one of Feliciano's textbooks, mostly due to the fact that he felt like he should have an education too. After all, he hasn't been going to school as far as Feliciano knows. Maybe Feliciano should send his parents a message about Acero soon. After all, they're clueless about the golden-haired boy. But what happens if they get mad at them? Hopefully not...

"Why won't you talk?" whined Feliciano, poking Acero. Acero stared at him for a moment, not responding to his question. That just made Feliciano whine even more. For the whole week Acero has been there, Acero hasn't even spoke a word to them. It gets sort of annoying after awhile.

"Just forget it, Feli." Grumbled Lovino, passing by, "He won't talk and he never will." But Feliciano didn't accept defeat.

"But Loviiii! I want to hear him talk!" shouted Feliciano.

"Just forget it! The only thing that is going to end up with pestering Acero about this is him leaving!" yelled Lovino.

"No! I'm helping him get his voice back!" cried Feliciano.

"No you're not! You're annoying him!" shouted Lovino.

"Yes I am! And if Acero wanted to leave so badly, he would have done so ages ago!" exclaimed Feliciano.

"The only reason he hasn't left is because you keep on clinging onto him and it's starting to get annoying!" yelled Lovino.

"I'm not clinging onto him! Right, Acero—" started Feliciano, turning towards the direction. But Acero wasn't there.

"Acero..?" questioned Feliciano, panicking.

"He probably went to go to sleep. It's already Twelve 'o clock in the freaking morning." Reassured Lovino in annoyance, but if you look closely he seems as panicked as Feliciano. Feliciano nodded, trusting his brother.

"Y-Yeah! You're right! C'mon, I wanna go to sleep now..." yawned Feliciano, quickly running towards his room. Lovino, muttering something under his breath, followed him anyway.

* * *

Feliciano rolled around his bed, unable to go to sleep. He had dreams about THAT again. Wiping away his tears, Feliciano crawled over to Lovino's bed.

"Lovi..." whined Feliciano, "I can't go to sleep..." But Lovino didn't respond, fast asleep. Not wanting to wake up his brother, Feliciano made his way to Acero's room.

"Acero..." started Feliciano, crawling onto Acero's bed. Feliciano blinked in curiosity as he felt around the sheets. No one was sleeping here. Feeling his hands shake, Feliciano charged back into his room and pounced onto Lovino's bed.

"LOVINO! ACERO IS GONE! WE HAVE TO GO LOOK FOR HIM!" shouted Feliciano in worry. Lovino groaned as Feliciano's pounce made his fall off the bed.

"What? What about Acero?" stated Lovino groggily, standing up slowly.

"Acero isn't here! I can't find him anywhere!" shouted Feliciano. Hearing this, Lovino snapped out of his groggy state and rushed out the door. He rushed to put on his coat. Feliciano watched him in puzzlement.

"What are you doing, ve?" asked Feliciano, tilting his head to the side. Lovino scowled at him.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to go look for Acero!" shouted Lovino, running out the door. Feliciano followed his example and quickened his pace to catch up with his brother.

* * *

They've searched everywhere; from the house they found him in, the shopping district, everywhere. By the time they've reached the forest, the two boys were exhausted. But perseverance causes them to urge on. They've scanned through the area but still no luck. Dragging their sore feet along the dirt, they've stopped when they reached Seamoore's Cliff. Lovino was the first to talk.

"Maybe the kid just returned home. There's no possible way to go farther than this unless you used a car or a boat." Stated Lovino, his fatigue clearly shown in his voice. Feliciano's eyes were downcast. Then, out of the blue, he noticed a flash of golden near the lower parts of the cliff. (It curves down in some sort of half circle.)

"Acero!" cried out Feliciano, running so fast down the hill that it seemed as if he was sliding. Lovino followed his lead and the two made it to where Acero was. Acero leaned against a well-polished rock and appeared to have cried himself to sleep. The twins turned towards each other, debating on whether or not to wake him up, before Lovino just hoisted Acero onto his back and the three left to return to their homes.

_Acero's cheeks were wet with tears._


End file.
